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ESCAPE

The human brain is an incredible thing! The massive amount of tasks that this pile of matter between our ears does every second to keep us alive and process information is just astounding. And one of the brain’s greatest tasks that God programmed it for is self-preservation; the brain’s main job is to keep us breathing. This is why we’re built with involuntary responses to fear, danger or pain. Ever set your hand on something really hot by mistake? Your hand probably flew away from it with all the speed and force you could muster, and the whole event was over before you consciously knew what had happened. That’s your brain overriding your decision-making ability and taking action to protect you. It’s incredible!

But, when we move outside the realm of physical danger, that same self-preservation instinct can become a destructive thing. You see, the human brain is built to protect us from pain; pain means something is wrong and our brain tries to solve or eliminate that issue as quickly as possible. But when the brain encounters emotional pain or mental anguish, it can’t always solve it. It’s not like a hot stove that the brain can force the hand to move away from. It just hurts and sometimes there isn’t really a solution. So, when the brain can’t fix the pain, its next best strategy is to escape the pain; let’s ignore it; let’s numb it; let’s distract and just try not to feel it.

Have you ever been there? Something is definitely wrong but there’s nothing you can do about it, so you find yourself trying to escape? There’s 100 different ways we may try to escape or self-medicate: substances, Netflix binge, porn, self-harm – it can get dark and destructive pretty quickly. But once again, these are just cheap substitutes we cling to for comfort — none of them actually satisfy; in fact, most of the time they leave us feeling worse. That’s why Jesus gave His followers the encouragement you’re about to read. Yes, life has pain. You will experience things your brain can’t fix, but Jesus can. He won’t snap His fingers and make your pain vanish but He’ll walk with you through it; He’ll provide hope, strength and comfort. And the reason He can say that authoritatively is because He lived a difficult life; He suffered our pain (physical, emotional and spiritual) on that cross, and He walked out of that grave alive proving He had, in fact, overcome the pain of this world. 

So, gut check time again: are you grasping at some way to escape or numb the pain? What would happen if you set that down, allowed yourself to feel the pain (I know that sounds scary), but you didn’t feel it alone? What if you went straight to Jesus and asked Him to feel that pain with you? He absolutely will and only then will you actually begin to find true healing for your pain.